


Sleep

by thorvaenn



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Post-Kings Rising, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 21:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8029678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorvaenn/pseuds/thorvaenn
Summary: He feels certain that, despite his exhaustion, he will not be able to sleep.
 Ficlet set immediately after the end of Kings Rising, in which Damen sleeps, healing, and Laurent joins him.





	Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Soon after the last book came out I just HAD to get Damen's "First night" out of my system, followed by the also-necessary Auguste lives fic. Now what's left? Ah, yes, some post-canon fluff. Enjoy!

He feels certain that, despite his exhaustion, he will not be able to sleep.

 

A sleepless night under lock and key, with the hovering presence of his uncle making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up that transformed into an early morning, standing, limbs bared and shackled as all his real and imagined faults were paraded, one by one.

 

And above all that there was the knowledge that this was it, those were his last moments alive.

 

He tried. He spoke up where he could, he deflected and denied accusations, letting his tongue be as sharp as ever. But he knew it would be for naught.

 

Until Damen came in – was brought in, cuffed in the exact same way Laurent was – and the despair he managed to keep away threatened to swallow him.

 

And then- Kastor. Laurent's arms burned with exertion, but he wasn't worried that he may not overpower the false king of Akielos. Rather, he feared that he _would_.

 

And he did. The circle was complete.

 

Hours later, the palace is quieter. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Laurent is looking forward to walking down the wide, tall marble halls. He is looking forward to enjoying the view of the sea, so vast in its blue beauty. But for now, there is no one to show those wonders to him and he is being escorted around by Pallas, on Nikandros' orders.

 

He made it clear to the Council that they were not finished talking. Tomorrow and the days after, that's when he will employ them in the many preparations that must take place.

 

But now, there is elsewhere he must be.

 

Pallas takes him there without a comment.

 

He sits on the edge of Damen's large, low bed. He's gratified and perhaps a little relieved to find him asleep. There is a thick patch of bandages wrapped around his midsection, leaving the rest of his torso bare while a sheet covers him from the hips down.

 

Laurent has already heard Paschal's reassurance, but it frees something in his chest to see Damen resting so peacefully, his brow dry and his breathing even.

 

In the light of the night and day that has passed, Laurent thinks he deserves to savour the outcome, even if it is only in the privacy of his own mind.

 

He and Damen are alive. They are _kings_. They _won_.

 

And most importantly, Laurent lets himself feel how deeply, _desperately_ he loves Damen.

 

He huffs through his nose quietly in amusement. There. He formed the thought and it cannot be escaped now.

 

Some of his clothing was salvaged from the wagon and he preferred trousers and jacket, needing some semblance of a shield after standing trial in a short, torn chiton, but now he tugs on the laces impatiently and undresses. His eyes feel as though they are filled with sand and Damen's bed is very soft.

 

He lies down perhaps a little too far away, but he stretches one arm out, letting the tips of his fingertips rest on the smooth skin of Damen's biceps.

 

And he sleeps.

 

* * *

 

Damen wakes to find his stomach throbbing. He groans to himself in annoyance. He needs water but it's barely morning and he is not looking forward to calling out for an attendant.

 

That, as it turns out, will not be a problem.

 

“Damen?”

 

He won't admit it, but he startles terribly. In the darkness of pre-dawn, he has completely missed the presence in his bed.

 

“Laurent?”

 

Next to him, the bedding shifts and rustles. “Expecting someone else?”

 

“Never.”

 

The word slips out, too serious for this confused, sleepy exchange.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

Ah. Fussing Laurent. He's glad to be proven right.

 

“Thirsty,” is the only thing he manages.

 

It doesn't surprise him to feel Laurent get up and move around the room until a shallow cup is pressed to his hand and Laurent helps him sit up.

 

“Thank you,” he murmurs, sipping eagerly. His mind is clearing and the weight of Laurent presence finally penetrates the fog in his brain. “Thank you for being here.”

 

“I...” Laurent cups his cheek briefly in the dark. “Well, there's only one royal bed here, it turns out. We wouldn't want to break protocol.”

 

Damen grins and asks for more water.

 

Later, both of them settled again, Laurent surprises him by speaking. “I didn't think I would be able to sleep.”

 

Damen swallows, trying to keep his words gentle. “It was a difficult day.”

 

“And night.” The reply from Laurent comes only as an after-thought but Damen tenses.

 

“Did-”

 

“No.” Then, a sigh. “No, I mean... I only meant I haven't slept. Captivity truly is not pleasant.”

 

Damen feels, almost physically that there is a dam in his mind, a dam that is keeping all those thoughts at bay. He wonders if Laurent has a dam of his own. Then he searches for Laurent's hand in the dark.

 

“But you slept now? Here with me?”

 

There's barely a hint of hesitation. He hears Laurent's soft exhale and the sheet being tugged more carefully around the both of them.

 

_“Yes.”_

 

 

 


End file.
